Alexander Robert Richardson (4 July 1847 – 2 May 1931) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He made a fortune through the development of

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

s in the

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

, and later served in both houses of the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

. He was a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from 1887 to 1890 and a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 1897, and served as a minister in the government of

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister in ...

Early life

Richardson was born in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, London, England, to Jane (née Anderson) and Thomas Elliot Richardson.Alexander Robert Richardson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2016. His parents were Scottish (his father being a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister), and before living in London had been resident in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, where Richardson's older brother, John Elliott Richardson (also a member of parliament) was born.John Elliott Richardson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2016. Soon after Richardson's birth, the family left for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, settling in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. His father eventually left the ministry and purchased a newspaper, the ''

Portland Guardian ''The Portland Guardian'' was a weekly newspaper published between 1842 and 1964 in the seaport town of Portland, Victoria, Australia. It was known as the ''Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser'' from 1842 to 1876. It was founded by ...

''. Richardson worked on the ''Guardian'' for a brief period, and then went to work on some of the nearby

s owned by his relatives.

Business career

In 1864, Richardson and his brother were involved in the formation of the Portland Squatting Co., which sought to exploit liberal land regulations in other colonies. They sailed to Western Australia the following year with 1,600 sheep, arriving in

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

and later venturing further in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

, where they established

Pyramid Station Pyramid Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located approximately east of Karratha in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The station has also previously run sheep on its pastures. Covering an area of , the station is situate ...

. After a few years, Richardson and his brother bought out their other partners, and expanded their holdings to include runs along the

Fortescue River The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state. Course The river rises near Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range about 30 km south of Newman, Western Austr ...

. In 1874, Richardson moved to a farming property, the Lowlands Homestead, in Serpentine (near

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

), although he retained (and continued to expand) his property in the

. In 1880, he severed commercial ties with his brother and with several others (including two other future MPs, William Paterson and

Samuel Elliott Samuel Richard Lewes Elliott (21 April 1860 – 14 July 1933) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1913 to 1914 and for a brief period in 1917, on both occasi ...

) formed the Murray Squatting Company. The company subsequently developed a property in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

, which became known as Yeeda Station; they later acquired additional properties in the same region.

Politics

In 1887, Richardson was elected to the Legislative Council as the member for the Northern District, replacing

McKenzie Grant McKenzie Grant (c. 1834 – 15 September 1897) was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He owned or leased large quantities of land in Western Australia, especially in the North-West, and served in the Legislative Council of Western Austr ...

. He remained a member of that body until its dissolution in 1890 (with the advent of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

), and was then elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 1890 general election, representing the seat of De Grey. Richardson was re-elected to De Grey unopposed at the 1894 election, and later in the year was appointed Commissioner for Crown Lands in the Forrest ministry, replacing

William Marmion William Edward Marmion (22 October 1845 – 4 July 1896) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 1870 to 1890, and a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 18 ...

. As lands commissioner, he saw several important pieces of legislation through parliament and played a key part in the establishment of the

Agricultural Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was founded as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia in 1895 by the Government of Western Australia being renamed the Rural and Industries Bank in 1944, and Bankwest in ...

. However, Richardson resigned from parliament (and consequently from the ministry) in April 1897, following a policy disagreement with John Forrest. At one stage, he had been regarded as a potential successor to Forrest as

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Later life

After leaving parliament, Richardson was made a trustee of the Agricultural Bank, serving in that capacity until 1921. He had early served two terms as the president of the Royal Agricultural Society (in 1889 and 1894).Past Presidents
, RASWA. Retrieved 29 December 2016. Richardson retired to South Perth in 1922, and died there in 1931, aged 83. He had married Ellen Bates Wellard in 1874, with whom he had twelve children. One of his daughters married Garnet Wood, who was also an MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Alexander 1847 births 1931 deaths Australian pastoralists Australian people of Scottish descent Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Northampton, Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Western Australian local councillors Colony of Western Australia people